12.27.2008

Maybe if the flickr uploader wasn't being all jankity, I wouldn't have to spend all my time waiting for photos to upload, and could focus some attention on this blog, among other things.

Being at the end of the world isn't as strange as it would seem. Ushuaia reminds me of Breckenridge- just a mountain town full of over-priced shops and cool little restaurants/pubs.

Reading New Moon now, the second in the Twilight series. I managed to find it at the same bookstore in B.A. that didn't have it before. Was so excited I picked up Eclipse too, and am glad I did, because I have nearly finished New Moon. Looking at the author's bio in the back...she attended BYU. Isn't that a Mormon college? Don't Mormon's believe in abstinence? Is this entire series going to be a lesson in abstaining from pre-marital sex???? That would be really fucking annoying. I mean, I know it's young adult, but come on. Bella is 18, and Edward is what, like a thousand? How convenient that physical contact pushes Edward too far towards the temptation of biting Bella. How convenient indeed.

BTW, on a completely unrelated topic, traveling in South America is really hard if you're a woman, due to a lack of clean, toilet paper-and-soap-containing facilities. And bus travel is SOOOOO much worse for we hoverers. There is nothing more disgusting than having to hover over a dirty bus toilet overflowing with piss. One sharp turn could potentially send human waste sloshing out all over you. I would recommend the following things for female travelers:

Fly if you have the money- you won't miss much in the way of landscape, because you'll be sleeping on the bus anyway

If flying is absolutely out, bring your own toilet paper, handsoap, hand sanitizer (for when there is no water on the bus), hand wipes, antibacterial wipes (for other things- armrests, door handles, etc.)

Try to pee at the longer stops (bring the t.p.!). Don't drink too much liquids

Go on that b.c. pill that keeps Aunt Flo away for months at a time (sorry, it had to be said)

With about 6 and a half weeks left, I can't help but daydream about the day I can return to a vegan lifestyle. The food here is really, really starting to take a toll on my body. I feel less energized, am getting a tiny gut, and waking up with the shakes everyday. Plus, I think I'm fighting off a cold (could blame all this hostel/bus living for that one though). I can't help but assume it's the lack of fresh vegetables in my diet. I miss those big leafy bunches of deliciousness.

On Christmas Eve Mark and I spent the evening with our hostel mates (Freestyle Hostel, Ushuaia), enjoying a buffet of salad (thank God!) and mystery bbq meats, plus all the wine and champagne we could consume. Let's just say we went from our first glass of wine to a crazy dance party disco within a couple of hours, even though it felt like minutes, as there was no happy medium where I told myself I should slow down on the booze. Before I realized it, we were all acting like fools, Aussies, Brits, random Europeans, Asians, and Americans, all mixed together, bonding over 70s and 80s music (with the occasional Madonna or Sean Paul track thrown in). It was chaos, with a very sloppy ending (I'll spare you the details). Let's just say it was the most unique way I've ever spent Christmas Eve.

Looks like my pics are finally almost done loading on flickr...bye for now!

11.23.2008

Almost finished with the first book in the Twilight series. I'm totally hooked. But where will I find the second book, Moonlight, when I'm done? Buenos Aires doesn't have a Barnes & Noble, and if it did, the books would be in Spanish. Mark emailed me a list of bookstores that carry English titles, but the selection will be extremely limited. I don't know how long I can wait to begin the second book though! haha.

Stephanie Meyer isn't the best writer, she uses a very basic style, even for young adult. Harry Potter is more complex even. But there is something that keeps me reading. She does capture the human experience through the eyes of a 17-year-old girl very well, and let's be honest, from time to time we all need a reminder of how dramatic, exciting, and irrational life and love were as a teenager. Although I have to admit, I never felt that extremely intense attraction (the kind where you have to leave the room for fear of what you might do if you stay and continue to interact with that person of interest) until I was a bit older. Young love was intense, yes, but not as developed as Bella's love for Edward. Or maybe it was and I just don't remember?? Wow I feel old now :P

Anyway, I highly recommend Twilight, especially if you enjoyed Harry Potter or Abarat. You will begin to fantasize about meeting and falling for a hot vampire of your own. *sigh* lol

11.14.2008

Hiya folks...now that i'm in South America, not sure how devoted i will be to maintaining 2 blogs (plus flickr, plus facebook, twitter, etc.) Please refer to the Adventures in South America blog for more updates and stuff. xo

11.05.2008

Hi-ho! I hope everyone is still happily basking in the afterglow of last night's victory. Barack made me proud. This is the beginning of something amazing for America, and for the world. Can't wait to see what happens!

Feeling better today. Slept better last night. Not really well, but better. I did a mock pack last night, to see what I can fit into my backpack for the trip. Tonight I'm going to do laundry, then start to set aside the official packing list. Eek! 6 days left!

11.04.2008

I made it until less than 2 weeks before leaving to have a total freak out. Haven't had anxiety like this for a long time. The not sleeping, heart palpitations, sudden chills or hot flashes, thinking I'm going to pass out or lose my mind, feeling like I can't breathe...It's THE WORST feeling you could have, next to dying or having a heart attack or drowning. Not that I've felt those other things, but anyone who has had anxiety would know what I'm talking about. It's scary as hell. But I refuse to go on meds for it, especially since it rarely happens, and the risk of dependence is high. I don't like to take medication unless I absolutely have to (like typhoid fever pills for travel). But I do need to learn some new coping skills. Maybe I will do yoga when I get home tonight.

I just have a lot to do before we leave- moving all of my stuff into storage, packing, and tying up any loose ends with bills and things. I'm also nervous about flying (I hate flying, and this will be the longest flight I've ever taken), and about just being away in a foreign country for so long. Doesn't sound like much I know, totally stupid and not good reasons to get bent out of shape, but that's how anxiety works. It makes even minor things hard to deal with. Sucks.

10.27.2008

10.22.2008

I went to the doctor today for my 2nd Hep B shot. The Russian nurse poked the shit out of me, tough love style. She also insisted I was wrong when explaining that the previous nurse had incorrectly filled out the yellow fever card. After arguing back and forth- me telling her that my knowledge comes directly from the travel clinic people (and my own reading skills, which are more developed than most Kaiser nurses, apparently), and mean nurse interrupting me constantly to "let me explain vut I am trying to say to you!"- we finally agreed that I was right. DUH. She filled out a new card, and sent me on my way.

I'm tellin ya, it must not take much to become a nurse. No offense to the nurses that are intelligent, but seriously...

10.21.2008

10.20.2008

Pet peeves list:

-Someone calls me, or answers the phone when I ring, then talks to someone else in the background. If I have to devote 100% of my attention to person on the line, the least they can do is extend that same courtesy. I will hang up if necessary.

-Clicking on a link that doesn't open in a new window, forcing me to have to use the back button, then option-click link...I changed my internet settings for this. Seriously annoying.

10.19.2008

Wow, 27 is a weird year...have seemingly lost two of my good friends (one of which was a bff), have grown closer to others and am absolutely loving time spent with them, yet am still spending a signif amount of time all on my own, listening to music and writing in my journal (about lost and found friends, no doubt). Kinda feels like puberty all over again, except without all the maturing physically stuff (hair in weird places, etc.). Is this normal?

It's weird, when I went to Europe I felt like it would be an amazing time to be alone, thinking about my life, the choices I've made, and what I wanted for the future. This time while Mark is in Vegas is not unlike that; in fact, it might be even more what I was looking for in Europe, bc this time I am all alone at home, without any distractions, just my own thoughts.

10.13.2008

Hi friends, just spent the weekend on the couch, sick (feel sorry for me please). I was so excited for beer drinking mayhem too, but instead was coughing, sneezing, stuffy headed, and soaking my sore achy muscles in the hot tub.

I had planned to take today off to get some errands run, but instead have been lazing about the house trying to nurse myself back to health. Good news is I'm finally starting to feel the teensiest bit better (could just be the antihistamine I took earlier though), despite this nagging itchy dry cough I have developed since Friday.

Will be in touch once my head clears...I blame the germy bus for this cold, bc I NEVER get sick. Thanks, homeless crack whore population of Denver.

9.30.2008

I will officially be car-less tomorrow morning. Colfax bus, here I come!

In other news, in 6 weeks I will be leaving to South America for 3 months. If McCain gets elected, I will probably not come back. If Obama wins, but we are still amidst a Great Depression II, I will probably not come back.

Wow..I just sat here for a good 5 minutes trying to think of one good reason to post to this blog today. Turns out, I have nothing exciting to say whatsoever. I apologize if you wasted 10 seconds reading this. Will try to come up with something more substantial next time.

9.27.2008

Well my friends (or no one, as I'm sure no one reads my blog *tear), I sold my car. I still have possession of it as of now, but come Monday I will say goodbye to it, and to my dependence on foreign oil. haha. I wish, but it's a step in that direction anyway. Made a little profit, which will help me finance this trip. Mostly I'm excited not to have to make payments, pay for insurance, or buy the ridiculously priced gas.

Tuesday morning will mark my first day using the public transport of Denver. Well, besides when I used to light rail it to school, but that still required driving to the park-and-ride everyday. The Colfax bus (15 I believe) will become my best resource during these next 6 weeks until we leave for South America. Can I handle it? Do I have a choice? It will be an adventure, to say the least. The ol' ipod will certainly be put to good use.

Still, this will be the first time in 11 years I won't own a car. I have grown quite comfortable having this luxury- it has played a key role in my daily routine. But, oh well. Time to move on I guess. I'm glad about it, my chance to stick it to the man in a small way.

Last Wednesday I got 3 of my immunizations for the trip. I go back in a month to get one more, plus pick up my prescription for typhoid fever pills. 6 weeks and we're outta here!

9.17.2008

9.02.2008

I dropped the bomb on my boss today about South America. I believe the exact exchange went something like this:

"So...I have some news...some big news........I'm not pregnant, don't worry! haha (boss nervously laughs and mumbles something)...So, Mark and I are thinking of going to South America for 3 months...(pause to take in the look on my boss' face, which was something I had never seen before)...and we're thinking of going in November..."

Admittedly not the best way to tell him. My announcement lacked confidence, to put it lightly (thinking of going?). I had to redeem myself. He asked, "So is this something you're definitely doing then?" I answered with a firm, "Yes," and nothing more.

There, I said it. Finally.

The good news is we talked about it for a while, then he told me he would talk to HR and see what my options are. Meaning, I might be able to get my job back when I return. Even after I told him about the possibility of moving to SF next year, he still wanted to give me my job back. This is a load off (if it works out), because I am going to be dirt broke and probably in debt to boot.

BTW, we bought our tickets a couple of nights ago. $1350 each. Ouch. Last night we requested an apartment in Buenos Aires for the first month of our stay. After that, we will spend 2 months travelling to different regions/countries. Woop!

Mark and I are going to book our airline tix to Buenos Aires this weekend, along with our apartment. There are a couple of websites that have affordable places to live; rental rates in BA are par for the course if you're coming from CO. I'm sure people from NYC/LA/Chicago would think it's cheap as chips to live down there. Basically, something less than half the size of my current apartment in Denver runs about half the price including utilities. So, pretty average. We're looking for something very cheap, even though it will be tiny as a closet. Because hey, it's a place to live, and it's fucking Buenos Aires, Argentina (!), and we will need to be frugal little bees on this trip. Luckily, the exchange rate is still very favorable (for now) so everything else will be cheap. I couldn't be more excited about it!

Saturdays are so great. I absolutely work for the weekend these days. Having basically stopped caring about my job, it's all I can do to make it through the M-F grind. Looking forward to November...

8.26.2008

I have come to realize how very basically my body responds to stress. Immediately, my fight or flight responses kick in at the first sign of an adverse situation. Heart beats rapidly, almost to the point that I feel like I may go into cardiac arrest (admittedly, not very adaptive). My sweat glands overreact as well. Within minutes, I can feel the sweat beads threaten to drip down the underside of my arm (since switching to deoderant purchased at Whole Foods, I am very aware of just how productive those armpit glands really are. ew, i know, sorry). I also feel an extreme rise in my body temperature.

Really, are we that unlike the animals that roam the earth seeking gratification to their most primal urges?

Random thoughts at work (I just kicked out one of my least favorite clients; hence, the stress, and the biology rant about bodily function)

8.25.2008

So the DNC is happening this week. In my city. Thanks. Now I can't drive to the library to pick up the book that is on hold because there will be absolutely no parking available. I also can't ride my bike through downtown bc apparently I could have bombs strapped on my spokes or something.

On the plus side, Denver wasn't chosen for the RNC. I'm pretty certain I would leave town if things would have gone differently. Only because I wouldn't trust myself not to put bombs on my spokes and ride maniacally into a cluster fuck of conservatives.

Don't quote me on that though.

In other news, I get paid Friday. At the end of each month I find myself dangerously close to having to live in a van down by the river.

7.31.2008

Mark and I went up near Idaho Springs/Mt. Evans in the Arapahoe National Forest. After driving through Conifer (to pick up camping gear from my dad), over Squaw Pass (the verrrrrry long way, apparently), and past Echo Lake, we made our turn on Forest Road. Then we had to drive 3 miles of bumpy-as-hell dirt road (why didn't the ranger tell me this was borderline 4x4 terrain?) until we finally reached our campground, West Chicago Creek.

Set up camp at about 11:30am, then took a nice hike up Hell's Hole trail. I have no idea why it was called that, bc it was beautiful. Lots of vegetation and creek crossings along the way. After about an hour of hiking we decided to turn back when we saw the clouds rolling in and heard the thunder.

Back at camp, we didn't know what to do with ourselves. What do you do at 1pm in the woods when you've just been hiking? Crack open the 12-pack Breckenridge Brewery Sampler, duh! And sit around the fire pit, of course. And fend off the biting flies (still have a gnarly bite on my calf).

At about 5 we got sick of looking at our camping neighbors (the campsites were rrrrreally close together) and worrying the twin red-headed 12-year-old-ish brothers would inevitably shoot us in the eye with their hastily-aimed slingshots, we decided to venture into Idaho Springs. You can't be away from civilization too long when you're from the city, ya know. We were beginning to feel that there was nothing beyond this campsite :P

Back down the craptastic 4-wheeling trail of a road, and another 10 minutes into the town. We needed more ice, and snacks (Mark forgot to pack them)...

Back to the campsite. 6:30pm. Time to start a fire I presume! And it's a good thing we started so early, bc it took until nearly dark for it to really get going. The camp host sold us green wood >:@

Felt good to sit by the fire, plus, the flies finally went away. We threw our pre-made burritos wrapped in foil onto the grill and sat patiently, enjoying another beer while they heated up. It felt good to be in nature. Away from all things technologically-related. We were alone. Finally. Oh, except for some new neighbors who took the last vacant site in the campground, right next to us. We were sandwiched in between the two groups, and could make out their entire conversations as if they were sitting around our fire. Also, there seemed to be a breeze moving in, and of course, as we were camped downwind from the vaulted toilets, well, you can guess how lovely the smell was, wafting it's way over to us every so often.

I'm making this sound like the worst camping trip ever, but it was actually a lot of fun, despite the aforementioned issues. We ate our deliciously spicy burritos, sipped our beer, and eventually, ran out of firewood and decided to call it a night.

Of course, I didn't sleep a wink (well, maybe a wink, but not more than one). I thought every scratch, scuffle, and scoot out there in the wilderness was a bear. A big black bear coming to eat me and the burrito in my stomach. I woke Mark up at one point, "Is there something out there???" to which Mark hardly mumbled a yes before turning over and drifting back to sleep. At dawn, I think I finally got that wink of sleep in.

The next morning, Mark and I ate breakfast, fended off more flies, and decided we would take a nice long hike up near Mt. Evans. We also decided against spending another night here, so we packed up, and made our exit.

First stop was at Echo Lake, just to check it out and take some pictures. The dragon flies were EVERYWHERE, mating, looking for a mate, and generally flying at my face (as all bugs do). We were obviously in their way, so we took some pics of a cute duck family, then drove up to the trail head.

After chugging a Spicy V8 (for good measure) and stuffing myself with another spicy burrito, we began our ascent. It was 10:30am, and the clouds were already looming, just to give you an idea of the scene. But we decided to press on, figuring we could make the 6-point-something mile round trip hike with plenty of time to spare. Plus, yesterday the clouds blew over without leaving so much as a drop of rain behind.

The hike was gorgeous, though a bit spooky, as it was cloudy and very densely-treed. Our first mile or so was basically all uphill, a good workout for my sore slept-on-the-ground ass. It led us to the highest point of the hike, then we began a descent into a valley. And of course, we ignored the thunder that seemed far enough away.

We made our way along the eerily empty trail, and I daydreamed about the black bear that was probably waiting behind the next bend for us with a fork and a knife, licking his chops. We only saw one other man on the trail the entire day, and he was hauling ass out of the valley, which didn't help soothe my worries. Further and further we went, until we were finally in the very lowest point in the valley. Well, it was amazing, to say the least. To be surrounded by nature and so far away from other people was truly a unique feeling that I haven't experienced many times in my adult life. We crossed a very man-made bridge, and looked up in the sky...

Well, it didn't look promising, and that's putting it lightly. But still, we hadn't reached the lake, and it had to be near. So we continued on...and then the wind picked up, and it was a cool wind. The wind that brings a storm. Time to head back I guess, and sadly, without reaching our intended destination. *sigh

From that point on, it was a race against time, and the clouds, which we couldn't tell were moving exactly the same way we were, and bringing mayhem. Up and out of the valley, going at a pace only nature (or a bear) could push me to. Wind blowing, clouds getting darker, thunder getting louder, then the first sprinkles fell on our arms...Yikes, this does not look good.

Finally, as we were nearing the high point that would mark the beginning of our final descent, the lightning began crashing all around us, and it was clear we might end up like one of the trees we saw along the trail that had been severed by electricity straight through the middle from the ground up. It was time to start focusing on getting to the safety of my car.

By the time we reached the pinnacle of the trail, our exhausted legs were begging us to stop for a quick rest. The lighting was directly above us though, so there was no way in hell we were stopping. In fact, we ran across the clearing, and made it back into the trees just as the rain started pouring down on us. Lighting striking..one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, 3, 4, 5, and thunder. Oh good, it's still at least 5 miles away, as long as that one-one-thousand rule really works. More lightning, each time seemingly getting closer. Rain pouring down. Things weren't letting up, it was only going to get worse. Lighting...CRASH!!. Yep, time to run.

We ran all the way down the hill. Probably a mile or so down a wet, rocky, stumpy trail. It was madness. I actually feared for my life at that point, which only motivated me to run harder. The lightning was directly above us, and we were freaked. When the hell were we going to get to the bottom of this god-forsaken path of darkness? And then, we were there.

We jumped into the car, and drove down the flooded mountain pass to Idaho Springs, then hopped on I-70, and in less than an hour, we were home. Back in Denver, where the storm had only just begun to blow in. The trip was fun, exhilarating, and downright frightening. But all in all, I'd say it was worth it.

6.10.2008

So, far, looks like the ball is rolling for my next adventure. This time, however, it's going to be more than just a 3-week ordeal (3 weeks, really?!). Mark and I are going to move to Argentina for 3 months, which is the max you can stay in a foreign country without a pretty sweet visa. I'm still trying to figure out how in the hell people obtain those, btw...But for now, 3 months. Then, if we love love love it, we'll have to fly home, then figure out how to fly back for an extended period.

Seriously, I can definitely handle selling all my shit (including the car I just bought last September) and becoming a rambling woman :P Hell, I'm already throwing stuff away/recycling/giving away things pretty much constantly. I'm a minimalist with too many possessions. It won't be hard to let it all go. The only thing I'm having some trouble with is my 6-year-old cat, Stella. I totally absolutely cannot let her go! WTF will I do???

Oh, so this is what we're thinking: Go to Argentina, see how we love it, and do a little traveling around (possibly as far up as Ecuador) if it seems manageable. WOOP!

This is how I keep going, and avoid opening a vein at work everyday.

Also, I've been taking Spanish classes at Colorado Free University, and plan to continue them until the day we leave. Joined a Spanish Meetup.com dealio, so hopefully this will help me get to a place where I'm not constantly stumbling around trying to think of the words to form a basic sentence...

If anyone has any suggestions for me (apartment websites, etc.) please feel free to leave comments! I've been doing a shite-load of research as well. :)

5.28.2008

I'm losing my mind at this job. Which is kind of ironic considering I work with crazy people and am supposed to be the sane one that everyone comes to for help and stability.

Seriously though, I am so unhappy. Is this what happens when you reach the burnout stage but you don't have the means to just put in your two weeks? I wouldn't know, this is the first real job I've ever had, and have been here for over 2 years. When I was younger I would grow to hate my job, then just blow it off. I had my family to lean on. I didn't have the responsibility of rent, bills, a car payment. DAMN IT!

I need to stay focused on my goals, but it is so difficult when I have to come here and deal with the same shit day in and day out for a large chunk of my time every week. How do I maintain any perspective? It would be easier if my goals were more clear, but when have I ever had clear goals? So far, just one goal remains concrete: to pay off all credit card debt in 5 months. Now that feels good to write. And once I have reached that goal, I will be much more free to dream about the others (SF or South America, or Europe?).

SF: I would LOVE to move there and start over in a new city full of possibilities. Problem is, it's ungodly expensive, plus, what if I end up at a job just like this one???? Even SF wouldn't be enough to make me happy.

South America: My next adventure. Can I wait until after I move to SF to go? Honestly, I don't think I can. That's 5 (plus) months without a vacation. I don't know if I can deal. I can hardly go 3 months without some sort of break. Plus, I can't afford to live in SF and go to S.A. It's got to be one or the other for now. If I listen to my heart, it's the traveling option that would make me happy. I want to travel indefinitely.

Europe: I've wanted to live there since I came back from my trip, but it seems very hard. Not impossible, just difficult. Language barriers, money exchange rate, etc. Still, it's something I will do at some point.

For now, I have to be satisfied with my dreams, my once-a-week Spanish class, Italian class in June, and vegan cooking. I plan to join a Spanish speaking group as well. *sigh*

5.09.2008

Yes, it has been a while since my last post. I went to Europe. I had an amazing time. I came home. And I want to go back. What else is there to say? I rrrreeeeally really really want to go back. Looking at my pictures is a tease. I want it all. I want to live there, to learn the languages, to experience the cultures from a perspective other than a tourist's. How can I make this happen? The work visa situation is impossible. Should I teach English? Should I work in the tourism industry, as a maid in a hotel? ???

This summer I'm taking an Italian class- I need to get good at it. Italian in college was a good base, but I want to be fluent. And then I want to learn French! And of course, get really good at Spanish. I want it all, like I said. I need it. I crave it. I'm a junkie. A travel junkie.

3.14.2008

So, I'm out of here in 4 days! Crazy! I can't think of any other word to use that describes the situation at hand. I'm going to Europe for almost a month.....crazy.

I've been working like a bee getting my ducks in a row, and think I've pretty much covered all my bases. This overseas travel can really drive a person nuts! There are so many extra things to think about: money, phone, customs......the first two have been a real mind fuck, let me just put that out there. Why, today I called to find out how I will purchase my data plan for unlimited email and web, only to find out that when someone calls me and I don't even answer my phone I'll still be charged 99 cents a minute! wtf? The lady says it's bc we are using their airwaves or whatever so we have to pay for it. I find that utter bullshit, but what can I do? That basically means I have to block incoming calls while I'm there. It's not that bad, cuz I wasn't planning on taking calls while I was there anyway. I will just be checking my voicemail with a phone card periodically. Blah blah blah boring stuff...

3.07.2008

So my weekend will commence in, oh, about 2 hours, at which point I will go home to nap- do not pass go do not collect two hundred dollars. Then happy hour at Gov's from 4-7, then who knows.

Tomorrow I'm going to see my mom in Littleton at 10am- I think we're going to do a little shopping ;)

Sunday lazy day...

So more plans have been made for my trip!

After the Contiki tour ends I'm going to extend my stay in the Ibis Hotel for one more night so that I can see more things in Paris. Rob will meet me and get himself a room that night in the same place, then the next day we're driving down to his parent's house in the south of France. Check out the sweet-ass place I get to stay in !!!

We're then going to fly back to London where I'll spend the remainder of my trip (April 5-9). Yay!!!!!

I've made an itinerary that everyone can check out. Have to figure out how to post it though.....

3.03.2008

So I am now technologically up-to-date (if there is such a thing). Just got a blackberry pearl on thursday, and got my ipod classic in the mail friday. I LOVE new toys!!!! I was talking to the guy in the t-mobile store, and he told me I could add on this service while in in Europe and it will allow me to email for free, which is awesome bc that can be my means of communication with everyone back home! Minnie likey :)

2.25.2008

Mark ordered me a new ipod classic from amazon yesterday. yay!!!!! My 3rd generation ipod is really on the fritz- the battery only lasts about 30 minutes when fully charged, and that's if i don't mess with the controls very much! I could have gotten a new battery put in for 60 bucks at the mac outlet store, but screw it. My new ipod will have 80Gb of memory, versus my current ipod's 15. And for 240 bucks, compared to the 269 i paid for the one i have now, it's an awesome deal!

Once again, the weekend flew by in a flash. But the countdown continues for Europe, with about 3 weeks til departure. Man, I'm kind of still in disbelief that this is really going to happen.

Speaking of Europe, I've been doing some research on the cheapest and best way to call home (Mark) while I'm away. Seems like no matter which route you go, you're gonna get screwed with a huge bill. I can just use my phone and roam for 99 cents a minute and 35 cent outgoing texts, or I can buy an international SIM card for starting around 20 bucks and then pay their 45-85 cents per minute plus "free" incoming texts (which aren't really free for the person sending them so what's the point?), or I can buy an entirely new phone for around 40 bucks and prepay for minutes and texts at around the same rate, OR, I can just go the old-fashioned way with a phone card and call from the hotel phones and payphones along the way. It's basically a lose-lose-lose-lose situation. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

You can call it steak, tuna, bacon, or chicken. No matter how you slice it, it's a piece of decaying, decomposing carcass. We know you like the taste, but there are other foods that mimic the flavor and texture of meat but don't come with the same side effects. Smarten, up, bitches."

That's all I'm sayin'. Especially in light of the media coverage of the abuse in factory farms, it amazes me that people can turn a blind eye just because their food is packaged without its face. Get with the program. Did you know living a vegan lifestyle is better for the environment than buying and driving one of those awesome, yet really expensive hybrid cars? Factory farming depletes more of the earth's resources than anything else in the world. More that 1/3 of all fossil fuels produced in the United States go towards animal agriculture. Factory farming uses a lot of water (one pound of beef requires 2500 gallons of the stuff), and it pollutes it (2 billion tons of manure, gross)! And all those 200 million pounds of imported beef have to be raised somewhere (South America often times), which means deforestation of our rainforests. GOT GLOBAL WARMING?

Hey, you don't have to listen to me- you do the research. I'm sure what you find will shock you.

2.18.2008

Well it's Monday morning...again. How is it that a m-f week of work can crawl by slower than slugs on a muggy afternoon, but the weekend goes by in a flash?I propose a change in the system: work week: tuesday-thursday. weekend: friday-monday.

I promise to work really hard all week!!! I truly could get all the work done in 3 days that is normally spread out across 5 days. *sigh...a girl can dream though....

In other news, the countdown is on. 1 month and 1 day until I depart on my trip to fabulous Europe!!!!! I'm scared/excited/blissful/paranoid about it. I'm sure as is gets closer I'll be even more nervous. I've never traveled alone and I absolutely do not enjoy flying in the least. In fact, I've been known to almost have a panic attack in the event of turbulence.

So here's the plan (if I actually survive the flight over without fainting):

Then either hop the bus back to London, or stay for a couple more days in Paris. Either way I'll end up back in London where my friend Robin lives with his flatmate. I guess I'll just be crashing on his couch for a little bit, unless we decide to go off on some other adventure. That all remains to be seen. For now, Contiki is all that's set in stone. Writing it out like this gets me verrrrry excited actually. I have to remind myself that this will be the most amazing trip of my young life- possibly entire life. I'm glad to be taking his on solo. I'll get to prove something to myself or find myself or whatever..

So today is friday, thank Goddess! I came to work early (7am) bc my boss had some inservice retreat thing.

Mark and I went up to Crested Butte from Monday to Wednesday. It was awesomeness! What a cool town, but I don't think I could ever live there- too cold and too isolated. Gunnison is the lamest town ever and it's the nearest thing to C.B. But still, living in a mountain town is very organic. Breckenridge was great, except that I got a little cabin feverish near the end of the season.

2.02.2008

So I've been inside my apartment all day, with the exception of meeting my dad, step mom and brother for lunch at P.F. Chang's.

It's weird to not speak for a good 8 hours. My cat is the only witness to my life and my s.s.b. (secret single behavor (SATC reference)).

Do you ever have a bad feeling in your gut and you can't figure out why? I've had that all day. Maybe that's what isolating yourself as you watch the hours tick by and the sun go down does to a person.

Anyway, there are important things happening in my life, despite what you may think. Like the fact that I'm flying off to Europe by myself in about six weeks. !!!!!! First time traveling alone. Big deal. No really, it's a big deal.